Werribee must defeat the in-form North Ballarat in the final round of the 2011 home-and-away season to have any hope of snaring the double chance heading into the finals, as Samantha Landy reports.
The Tigers will be aiming to regain fourth spot when they meet the Roosters at Eureka Stadium this Saturday after losing it to the Casey Scorpions last weekend.
The task with be a tough one as Werribee must also rely on the boys from Casey Fields to lose their match against the Northern Bullants this week. The Scorpions have the advantage in terms of percentage despite sitting even with the Tigers on 10 wins and seven losses.
Should Werribee lose, the club could drop to sixth on the ladder for week one of finals, providing the Ants, who are also on equal points with the Tigers and Scorpions, overcome Casey at Casey Fields on Saturday.
Unfortunately for Werribee, the Roosters stand in the way of a top four berth.
The reining triple-premiers have won seven on the trot, including victories over top eight clubs Williamstown, the Northern Bullants, Box Hill and most recently Bendigo Bombers.
The Roosters blitzed the Bombers by 78 points last week, propelled by an 11-goal third quarter. Four of these came from Marcus Darmody, usually a defender, who finished with seven majors for the match. Nicholas Peters and usual suspects Cameron Richardson, Lachlan George and Myles Sewell were also among Ballarat’s best.
Ballarat have third spot sewn up as a result.
The Roosters could rise into second place with a win against Werribee, snatching a home final from Williamstown, but only in the unlikely event that the Seagulls lose to cellar dwellers Frankston at Frankston Oval this Sunday.
In contrast to North Ballarat, Werribee went down to Casey by 44 points last Saturday, a disappointing result considering the Tigers started the match as favourites. They simply had no answer for two-time Coleman Medallist Brendan Fevola, who booted six majors for the Scorpions on young Werribee backman Kyle Hartigan.
The Tigers can find a positive from last week’s game in the performance of North Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh, who pushed for AFL selection by slotting 3 goals. Ben Ross, Matt O’Dwyer and Sean Tighe also showed they could be of real value in Werribee’s finals campaign.
Despite conceding six majors to ‘Fev’, Hartigan showed promise for the Tigers, earning him praise from coach Paul Satterley
“Kyle Hartigan is better for the experience, I believe you should always show faith in your youngsters, and I was just pleased that he stuck to the [Fevola] task even right to the very end,” Satterley said post-match.
Hartigan’s task is not likely to get much easier this weekend. He is likely to line up on Aaron Black who gave the Bendigo defenders some trouble last Saturday, booting five goals from 13 touches and seven marks.
Black also touched up Werribee last time the teams played in Round 4, kicking four majors in the Roosters’ 19-point win.
The Tigers will be keen to reverse this result when they face North Ballarat this Saturday.
More importantly, Werribee will endeavour to keep the prospect of the double chance alive in what is shaping up to be a vital match in the final round of the VFL home-and-away season.
Last Modified on 26/08/2011 17:49